Kindertransport Association

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Vienna’s UK embassy honours diplomats and clergy who saved Jews from Nazis

Posted on March 8, 2023

The UK ambassador recently discovered her own grandmother escaped on the Kindertransport

A plaque honouring the memory of British officials and Anglican clergy who saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis was unveiled at the British embassy in Vienna.

The ceremony was led by Lord Pickles, the government’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues and co-chair of Britain’s Holocaust Memorial Foundation, and the president of the Austrian parliament Wolfgang Sobotka.

The diplomats and clergy went into action after the Anschluss of March 1938 when Hitler’s troops annexed Austria.

It was an emotional morning at the embassy for Britain’s ambassador to Austria, Lindsay Skoll, who told attendees she had often found herself close to tears reading the accounts of those whom British diplomats and clergymen had tried to save.

Vienna’s British embassy honours diplomats, clergy who saved Jews credit Richard Pobaschnig (4)

Lord Eric Pickles and president of the Austrian parliament Wolfgang Sobotka unveiling the plaque (Photo: Richard Pobaschnig)

Ms Skoll discovered only recently that she herself was the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor. Her grandmother, born in Germany, found sanctuary in Vienna as a child before making it out on one of the last Kindertransport trains, settling in the north-east of England. Her grandmother kept this a secret until almost the very end of her life.

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German federal parliament president pays respects at Kindertransport memorial

Posted on February 25, 2023

The President of the German Bundestag (federal parliament) visited the Kindertransport (Children’s Transport) monument at Liverpool Street Station.

The visit coinciding with the 85th anniversary of the Kindertransport, Bärbel Bas, representing the national parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany, placed a stone beside the famous memorial statue, in the presence of Kinder and their families.

Also in attendance were representatives from The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), World Jewish Relief, as well as Lord Eric Pickles, special envoy for post-Holocaust issues of the UK government.

Also see similar article at https://www.thejc.com/news/community/german-parliament-president-pays-tribute-to-shoah-refugees-on-visit-to-liverpool-street-station-memorial-5tvFwloWu1IEcw5vNEEQMp

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Bradford’s Kindertransport hostel was sanctuary in the war

Posted on February 22, 2023

ARRIVING at the docks in Dover in late 1938, the children from the Kindertransport tried to be brave. They had no idea where they would be going. No idea who would look after them.

Some children were collected by relatives. Others sat waiting. They had no family to greet them. “Be polite to whoever looks after you”, their parents had said, waving them off from cities across Europe. The children knew their parents were sending them far away as a last resort. The children didn’t want to be impolite and to be returned.

Someone in an official uniform read out names. About 20 boys aged 14-16 stepped forward. Three women approached and smiled at them. “We’re taking you to Bradford,” they said. “It’s a few hours away on the train but there you will have a home. We will feed you and you will be well looked after. You will be safe.”

And so began the journey of the boys to their city of sanctuary for the war years.

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BBC series tells the story of Tyneside’s Holocaust refugee house for girls

Posted on February 18, 2023

A BBC Sounds series narrated by Desert Island Discs presenter Lauren Laverne tells the remarkable and previously unknown story of how more than 20 young girls were rescued from Nazi persecution and brought to the small town of Tynemouth, east of Newcastle, and supported by the small local Jewish community.

In a nondescript terraced house overlooking the sea, the girls lived together for about a year in 1938. Once war was declared, they were collectively relocated from 55 Percy Park to Windermere in the Lake District for the next six years.

Speaking to the JC, series co-creator Joanna Lonsdale said: “The story of Tynemouth’s Kindertransport girls is a remarkable one and one that we just couldn’t believe had been forgotten. Everyone knows the story of the Windermere boys — there’s even a movie about it. But nobody knows that there was also a community of girls there that escaped the Holocaust.

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Holocaust memorial service held at new statue in Harwich

Posted on February 2, 2023

A SPECIAL Holocaust memorial service was held in Harwich for the first time following the unveiling of Harwich’s Kindertransport memorial.

Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated every year on January 27 to honour the six million victims of the Holocaust.

The date is the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945.

Following the unveiling of the Kindertransport memorial at Harwich Quay last year, Harwich Town Council decided the site would be a fitting focal point for Holocaust Memorial Day.

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Lowestoft: Kindertransport arrival at town’s railway station marked

Posted on February 2, 2023

A new history panel recounting the 1938 Kindertransport arrival in a coastal town has been unveiled during a special ceremony.

The giant interpretation panel was unveiled at Lowestoft rail station – close to where hundreds of young Jewish refugees had arrived in December 1938.

And as people from the community gathered to mark Holocaust Memorial Day at the station last Friday, a special ceremony was held to unveil the new panel – which recounts the events of the 1938 Kindertransport arrival in Lowestoft.

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Legacy and the Kindertransport

Posted on February 2, 2023

One of the most moving stories of rescue during the Holocaust is the Kindertransport, the British-led effort to that transported 10,000 Jewish children to safety in the U.K. Today, Kindertransport refugees and their descendants share a legacy of survival, resilience, and responsibility.

Join USC Shoah Foundation on February 16 for this unique webinar that will introduce Edith Maniker, a survivor of the Kindertransport, and Mona Golabek, the daughter of Lisa Jura who was saved by the Kindertransport, for a live conversation as well as an introduction to their digital biographies shared in the Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony program. This digitally based program allows students and teachers to engage in personal conversations with survivors from their own computer devices, making it a powerful tool that redefines inquiry-based education.

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Coalville CAN hosts ‘evening you will never forget’ with Holocaust survivor Ruth next month

Posted on January 28, 2023

Coalville CAN is hosting what it describes as an unforgettable evening next month at its Memorial Square venue.

An Evening With Ruth Shwiening – a Holocaust survivor – takes place on February 8 at 6pm.

It is a story of survival of the holocaust, Ruth’s journey on the Kindertransport and how it inspired her art and her life.

A Coalville CAN spokesperson said: “We are sure it will be one of those evenings that you will never forget.

Ruth arrived in England on the Kindertransport at the age of three – while her father was imprisoned in Dachau and her mother was left to desperately find a way out for the rest of the family.

“Hear the story of her life as a Jewish refugee in the UK, and how she ignited her own artistic talent that she uses to share her story and support others.

“It is part of the creative sessions at Coalville CAN.”

All are welcome and there is no charge.

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Poignant memorial service held at Lowestoft rail station

Posted on January 28, 2023

Scores of people turned out as a town fell silent in remembering others during a poignant service of remembrance.

Close to the spot where hundreds of young Jewish refugees had arrived in 1938, the people of Lowestoft gathered during a special ceremony to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

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“I will never forget the refugee we took in from the Nazis”

Posted on January 28, 2023

On Holocaust Memorial Day, Ann Chadwick, 85, shares the story of how a little Jewish girl came to be a beloved part of her family

My earliest memory of Suzie Spitzer, the Austrian Jewish girl who became my sister, is of us fighting. We fought like tigers. She had very sharp elbows, was bigger than me and would shove me out of the way. But I did have a weapon in my armoury; she had wonderful dark curly hair which was perfect for pulling.

But when I asked my dad what he remembered of Sue – as we called her when she first came to us in July 1939 – it was her crying for her “Mutti” and asking for a tissue to wipe her tears away. My parents hugged her and tried to comfort her – they were kind and patient people.

Sue didn’t speak a word of English. She had already been forced out of her home city of Vienna to move to Prague. Then her parents put her on one of the last trains out of the country as part of the Kindertransport rescue mission to bring Jewish children from continental Europe to England. She was traumatised and alone – but she had us.

But it wasn’t long before she learnt to call my parents Aubrey and Winifred “mum” and “dad”. Sue became, simply, a member of our family of five.

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The lost history of Tynemouth’s Holocaust safe house for girls

Posted on January 27, 2023

A group of young girls and womenNumber 55 Percy Park looks much like all the other town houses on a well-kept seafront parade in Tynemouth. But more than 80 years ago, it played a small yet significant part in the rescue of Jewish children from the Nazis.

Following a BBC investigation, a blue plaque was unveiled on the house to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day and to mark the property’s forgotten past.

When Martin and Rosemary Anderson moved into their home in July 2017, they had no idea about what once took place within its walls.

“The previous owners, who’d lived here for a number of years, clearly didn’t know because a unique bit of history like that would have been a good selling point,” Martin says.

During World War Two, the Andersons’ home served as a sanctuary for more than 20 Jewish girls who had fled Nazi persecution.

They came to the UK on the Kindertransport, the rescue effort in 1938 and 1939 which brought thousands of mostly Jewish refugee children to Britain.

The girls lived in the terraced house for about a year, but all trace of their presence there has since disappeared.

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Antisemitism rising because of a lack of Holocaust education, survivor says

Posted on January 27, 2023

A 92-year-old Holocaust survivor said antisemitism is on the rise because young people are not learning about the Holocaust as much anymore.

Vera Schaufeld came to England via the Kindertransport, a movement that was set up to evacuate Jewish children from Germany in the wake of Kristallnacht – a night of Nazi-coordinated violence in November 1938 which resulted in the destruction of hundreds of synagogues and Jewish properties across the German Reich

Her parents remained in what was then Czechoslovakia and were sent to a concentration camp where they were later murdered.

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Holocaust survivor, 96: ‘I’m grateful to the kind British people who helped me build my life”

Posted on January 26, 2023

On 9 November 1938, the Nazis initiated a campaign of hatred against Jews in all Nazi territories, known as Kristallnacht. This was the eve of Gabriele’s 12th birthday and she remembers “dreadful screaming”. The next day she waited excitedly for her father to take her out to celebrate as arranged. “My father never appeared,” she said.

It had become increasingly clear that Gabriele’s life was in danger in Austria. “My grandmother was worried that I would be taken next,” she said.

And so her grandmother arranged for her to escape the country through the Kindertransport. And on 24 April 1939, Gabriele was one of 150 unaccompanied children, with labels around their neck to identify them, who left Vienna for the UK, not knowing if they would see their families again.

“My grandmother came to the station to wave me off. The parents had been told not to have any emotional scenes,” she said.

“I’ll always remember my grandmother waving and smiling as the train pulled away. I know now she was trying to give me her courage, and encourage me to believe everything was going to be ok. It makes me very, very sad to think about that day.

“I’ll always remember the sounds of them crying. We were all alone and some were only four years old. We stopped off at a station on the Germany-Holland border and there was a feast laid out for us – sandwiches, drinks and more along with toys. The people there comforted the crying children. I haven’t been able to find out the name of the station, but I’ll always remember their kindness.”

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Tickets for Eva at The Rockwell Centre now on sale

Posted on January 24, 2023

A SHOW based on the story of a German Jewish woman who started a new life in Britain after World War Two is coming to Bradford next month.

Eva, which uses theatre and poetry to explore themes of displacement, isolation and immigration, is coming to The Rockwell Centre in Thorpe Edge on Sunday, February 12.

Written by Nicki Davy and directed by Leanne Rowley, it will look at how thousands of refugees started a new life in this country, all while the world mourned the millions of lives that were lost in the war.

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Concert documentary to take place at University of Lincoln to mark Holocaust Memorial Day

Posted on January 23, 2023

A special concert documentary will take place at the University of Lincoln on Friday 27 January to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

The event is called Kindertransport, which means “children’s transport” in German and refers to the rescue of thousands of children from Nazi-occupied Europe before the outbreak of the Second World War.

The event is inspired by Dr Robin Young whose father came to the UK from Czechoslovakia as part of the Kindertransport.

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Holocaust survivor to tell her story in Poole for memorial day event

Posted on January 21, 2023

A HOLOCAUST survivor will share her story as an annual memorial event returns to being held in-person.

An event for Holocaust Memorial Day, hosted by the Bournemouth and Poole Holocaust Memorial Committee, will be held at Poole’s Lighthouse on Sunday, January 29.

Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines MBE will be the event’s main speaker and will share her story as a Holocaust survivor.  In her talk, Lady Milena will recount her story of survival at 10 years old when her family were able to leave Prague on the last Kindertransport train with the help of Trevor Chadwick and Nicholas Winton, organisers of an operation which brought nearly 10,000 Jewish children in danger to the UK.

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Holocaust service to be held at new Kindertransport statue in Harwich

Posted on January 21, 2023

A SPECIAL Holocaust memorial service will take place in Harwich for the first time following the unveiling of Harwich’s Kindertransport memorial.

Following the unveiling of the Kindertransport memorial at Harwich Quay last year, Harwich Town Council said the site would be a fitting focal point for Holocaust Memorial Day.

Harwich mayor Ivan Henderson said: “The Kindertransport Memorial recognises Harwich’s role in the protection of many thousands of Jewish children through the Kindertransport but it also offers a focal point for us to remember and reflect on the horror of the Holocaust.

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Lowestoft: Holocaust memorial ceremony and new bench to be unveiled

Posted on January 18, 2023

Wreaths are due to be laid as a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day will be held in Lowestoft.

At the spot where hundreds of young Jewish refugees arrived in 1938, a special service of remembrance will take place on Friday, January 27 as Lowestoft rail station hosts a special ceremony.

Everyone is welcome to attend the service of reflection, which will take place inside the Parcels Office at the town’s railway station on January 27 at 10am. People will gather to remember the Holocaust and the role the town played more than 80 years ago when more than 500 children arrived at Lowestoft station as part of the Kindertransport initiative.

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Kindertransport refugees who survived Holocaust reunite

Posted on January 13, 2023
Hilda Fogelson, formerly Hilde Anker, received this German identification card in 1934. She used it when she fled on the Kindertransport to escape Nazi-occupied Germany.

Hilda Fogelson, formerly Hilde Anker, received this German identification card in 1934. She used it when she fled on the Kindertransport to escape Nazi-occupied Germany.Photo from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of George Fogelson.

Hilda Fogelson remembers Berlin fondly although she left in 1939. As an 13-year-old, she boarded a ship bound for the United Kingdom without her family, part of a rescue mission for about 10,000 Jewish children in Nazi-occupied areas known as Kindertransport.

On that same ship was toddler Michael Wolf, who escaped from Germany. Although they traveled together and both ultimately settled in California, Fogelson, 96, and Wolf, 86, had never met until they reunited last month at Fogelson’s Studio City home.

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Who are the Holocaust survivors in UK Parliament’s memorial day portraits?

Posted on January 10, 2023
Children evacuated from Germany on the Kindertransport in 1938/1939 are given candies in Southampton, England (photo credit: MAARIV)

Children evacuated from Germany on the Kindertransport in 1938/1939 are given candies in Southampton, England (photo credit: MAARIV)

The UK Parliament is set to exhibit 30 portraits of people affected by the Holocaust, genocide or identity-based persecution in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day which is marked internationally at the end of the month of January.

Four passengers of the Kindertransport are featured in the portraits: An ink and dipping brush drawing of couple Ann and Bob Kirk by Ellie Jones, a drawing of Bronia Snow by Ali Simmons, and a drawing of Fay Healey by 10-year-old Cerys.

Ann and Bob were on separate Kindertransports and only met later in life after the war in 1950. The two married and had two children.

Bronia was on a transport from Prague when she was 11 and was sent to a foster family. She never saw her biological family ever again. She told Simmons that she struggled with faith after the horrors of the Holocaust, but Simmons noted that “Bronia seems resilient, kind and curious.”

Fay Healey was on a 1938 transport from Poland at the age of 11. As an adult, Fay was a lollipop lady (a person who helps children cross the road when they are on the way to and from school) at Lander Road Primary School and St. Elizabeth Primary School.

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